ADDRESS BY MAJOR ATKINSON. Dunedin, Thursday.

Te Aroha News, Volume I, Issue 48, 3 May 1884, Page 3

ADDR ESS BY MAJOR ATKINSON. Dunedin, Thursday.

The Hon, "Major Atkinson addressed a crowded meeting in the Queen's Theatre tonight. The Mayor- was in the chair, and the Hon. Mr Rolleston was among those on the platform. Major Atkinson said he came before them a dispirited man. It had been said that the Government were a Government of Centralism, and that he was the chief apostb of it; and Mr Montgomery more than once had professed to have just found out that ho (the speaker) was a " hollow financial sham." But Mr Montgomery might find out that in spite of his hollowness he could stand a good deal of knocking about. He would begin by directing their attention to the expenditure of money raised on loan under the Immigration and Public Works Act since 1870. The sum borrowed had been 19£ millions, and he would tell them how that sum had been spent. Up to March 31, 1883, they had spent two millions on immigration, and in his opinion if they had spent more in that way they would not now have to complain of so much depression. They had spent about 17 millions on public works, generally on these items : Railways, lOf millions; roads, 2 millions; public buildings (including schools), £1,200,000 ; land purchase, £925,000; works on goldfields, £56,000; telegraph extension, £460,000. Of the total sum, they had spent £6,900,000 in the North Island, and £10,350,000 in the South. Now, taking the mean population in both islands, the proportion (should have been £6,550,000 in the North Island, and £10,700,000 in the South. This omitted all considerations of the Maori population, so that, on a population basis, the North had got about £300,000 more than its fair share out of a total of 17£ millions. He asserted that an impartial examination would establish the fact that every penny of the expenditure on the railways and roads of the colors out ef borrowed money had been a wise and proper expenditure, and he would show them one or two of the indirect advantages from the Public Works scheme. Last year on the railways of the colony they had carried forty -five and a- half millions of tons of goods a distance of one million miles. The cheapest possible cost of moving those goods by cart would have been two and aquarter millions. The actual cost by rail was a little over half a-million. In such indirect advantages alone the whole of tho interest paid on the public debt of the colony was more than covered. They had carried on the railways of the colony last year fortytwo millions of passengers the same distance, whose carriage if moved by coach would have been well over two millions, whoreas by railway it was a little over half a million. Then it had been further stated that the Government were a corrupt Government. Befcre he (Major Atkinson) took office there had beon ten millions out of the total of twenty millions borrowed, and the amount that he was responsible for borrowing, or for recommending to be borrowed, ■was less than six and a- half millions, and of that two millions were not yet raised, so that less than four and a-half millions was the amount he was responsible for. Now, Mr Montgomery's friends, while they had beon in office, which was about a third of his term, had asked authority to borrow seven and a-half millions, and this sum had actually been raised. These were the facts. Now he would speak about the present depression. He had been accused of saying at Hawera that there was no depression. This was a mistake, which arose through an unfortunate condensation of his remarks. He said had there was no depression in the colony which should make us doubt the financial soundness of the colony, or that affected the spending powers of the people to any appreciable extent, and was prepared to maintain this opinion against all-comers. It was quite true that trade was bad, and why was it bad ? He would tell them why, and he would tell them that the Government were facing the difficulty. They had dared to tell the people of the colony that they were borrowing too largely and spending too lavishly. The fault of the Government was, not that it was a wasteful and extravagant Government, but that it was an economical and careful Government. (Hisses and applause, and considerable interruptions.) Yes, that was itsrealfault. They had dared to face the position, and to say that for the future so much should not be spent out of loans or out of consolidated revenue. The colony had been spending about two millions a-year out of borrowed money. Then everything was flourishing, trade increased and traders increased. They had too many traders. Now the Government had curtailed borrowing, and certain private monetary institutions had done thesame thing, yet their traders had gone on importing quite as much as before. In this way the colony found itself sending away one million, or a million and a-half a year more than it had been doing before, and so, in a nutshell, here lay one of the principal causes of this depression. Speaking of the remedies proposed, he said the first was to kick the Government out of office. That was very easily determined. They had only to say that it should be done and so it would. If they asked his opinion, he would say it would be very unwise indeed. Another remedy proposed was to stop borrowing. This, however, woulddonogood, but only land them in greater difficulties than they were in at present. The third remedy proposed was an alteration of the Constitution. He saw that in Dunedin they had formed what they called a Constitutional Association. What it proposed to do was to decentralise the Government with the view of increasing the powers of the local bodies. Now he claimed to have done more for local government than any other man in New Zealand. What was proposed by the persons opposed to him was that there should be so many more centres to exercise the powers which the General Government at present exercised. It seemed to him that a better remedy would be to renew their faith in themselves and their country. Turning out the Government, altering the Constitution, and stopping borrowing, though very heroic plans no doubt, would not answer the pur: Eose. What they would have to do would eto work and to economise. In conolusion he would say that the prosperity of the colony depended on the people themselves—on the working classes. They had political power, and it remained for them to use it in a proper manner. — A large numbor of questions were asked, the meeting lasting till twenty minutes to twelve.— Mr Wilson moved, "That Major Atkinson be granted a vote of thanks for his address.' 1 —Mr Rossbotham moved, as an amendment, " That the speaker be thanked for his address, but that this, meeting has no confidence in his administration, of the government of New Zealand."— The Mayor, amid confusion, declared the motion carried.

At the recent explosion at Owake powder mill, the keeper, "Wm. Moul4, ha^ his clothes ignited, and leaped into the' water-; race to extinguish the flames. A plain womap at 2Q is sure to, foe a pretty o}dprie«t JQOt ' -^ ;s; s IV